Estilo Spanish Tapas Bar and Charcoal Grill @ Publika, KL

Happy Chinese New Year!!! What better way to start off the lunar new year than with a post of one of my favourite restaurants! =D I'm a big fan of Spanish food and when I saw Estilo at Publika, I told myself I had to try it! It's located outside Publika, near Fat Boy's Burger Bar and I love its quirky decor especially its numerous hand painted ceramic plates.

Love their artwork

Assortment of cute plates

My favourite of the lot =)

Complimentary bread

They serve thick toasted bread slices for dipping into their signature creamy, garlicky, buttery aioli. Can't get enough of their bread =P

Spanish Tortilla (RM 9)

The thick omelette layered with potatoes and onions was all right but slightly too starchy even for a potato lover like me.

Patatas Bravas (RM 12)

Deep fried potatoes are absolutely the best! These have fluffy insides and went well with the Turkey Bacon Aioli which came with a dab of spicy sauce.

Chorizo (RM 18)

The paprika chorizos were really flavourful and confit potatoes were absolutely addictive as it's bite sized and slightly crispy on the outside yet mushy on the inside.

Calamares Fritos (RM 16)

These deep fried calamari were extremely crispy and done just right. Seems like they love aioli here, don't they?

Champinones (RM 14)

The sauteed mushrooms were awesome! The creamy sauce with a splash of wine was extremely good and went really well with bread.

Pinchos Morunos (RM 20)

These chargrilled chicken skewers were extremely juicy and tender. The orangey sauce - probably another variation of aioli - was really good too.

Paella Estilo - Large (RM 102)

Estillo's signature paella looks awesome and you can literally taste the rich stock coating the rice grains. They were very generous with the amount of chicken, chorizos and green beans which tasted nothing less than wonderful. The garlic and chilli infused olive oil also added another layer of taste on the paella, somewhat like what bird's eye chillies in soy sauce is to noodles.

Paella Mariscos (RM 58)

The Paella Mariscos has plenty of fresh mussels, fish, squid, clams and prawns. Similar to Paella Estilos, the rice is extremely flavourful. The single slice of lemon however did not seem sufficient for the entire pan.

Chorizo and Pineapple Paella Pan Pizza (RM 18)

I ordered this out of curiosity as I thought it was a Paella PanPizza. Turns out it's a PaellaPan (Normal) Pizza. Its base was the hard yet crispy type and really good. Although pineapples were not evident, its juices definitely seeped into the tomato base and lent it a nice sweet flavour.

I absolutely love the food at Estilo and can't wait to return for more as I only had nibbles of everything =( Surprisingly, it does not serve pork but everything tasted awesome! =D



PawPoints: 5 Paws
Pawket: Tomato


Estilo Spanish Tapas Bar and Charcoal Grill

No. 34, Level G2
Block C5, Publika Solaris Dutamas
Tel: 03 6203 9883
Daily: 11.30am - 11.30pm

La Gomera Spanish Buffet & Dining @ NEO Damansara, PJ

This Spanish restaurant is a newbie on the scene, located at quite a secluded location in NEO Damansara. They have a buffet line on weekends and weekday dinner buffet but if that's not your glass of sangria, you can also order ala-carte dishes which are quite affordable compared to the likes of La Bodega and El Meson.

Good job!

Artistic terrace

Cordero Chilidro

This Spanish lamb stew was very comforting with a tomato-based gravy. The meat was tender and flavourful. If only we had a basket of bread to mop up the juices...

Gambas Al Ajillo

The grilled prawns with garlic and dried chilli were my favourite as the aromatic marinade was fully absorbed in the grilling process. The prawns were fresh and juicy and the shells did not stick to the flesh <thumbs-up> I'll definitely order this again.

Rabo de Toro

The Spanish oxtail stew was quite similar to the lamb stew but I prefer the latter. However that is not to say the oxtail stew was not nice; the oxtail was tender and flavourful and came with quite a bit of gravy. As with the lamb stew, it was a pity we did not order any bread to soak up the gravy.

Mejillones Vinagreta

Steamed mussels dressed with flavourful vinaigrette - light and refreshing yum! Will order this again too.

Calamares Rellenos

Hmmm the Spanish stuffed squid tasted a bit odd to me but Miss Pariahcetamol liked it a lot. The fresh squid was packed with a potato stuffing which after being stewed for so long, you can expect it to be something like mashed potatoes.

L: Pincho de Temera, R: Alas de Pollo Adeje

The one on the left is skewered beef with sweet tomatoes and onions whereas the one on the right is baked chicken in homemade sauce. The beef skewers were really good - very well marinated beef which were not tough at all. The softened sweet tomatoes and onions complemented the beef well.

I did not manage to try the baked chicken though but they looked good and seeing as they were snatched up in seconds, they couldn't have been dry.

Berenjenas Con Romero

Hmmm the baked eggplant with olive and dried chilli tasted...raw. Not raw as in hard (it was well grilled actually) but raw as in strong vegetable taste. That is probably due to the olive oil I suppose? Anyway not my favourite and it didn't seem too popular with the rest of the party too.

Paella Mariscos

The Signature Seafood Paella was a portion for 2 and boy were they generous with the ingredients! This is totally worth it with fresh seafood and extremely aromatic and fluffy paella rice. Will also order this again when I return.

Chicken Paella

This is a portion for 1 and you can see how big the portion really is. I couldn't taste any difference between this and the Seafood Paella but a few of my friends preferred this so perhaps this is a must-order.

Seafood Paella in Squid Ink

This is a portion for 1 as well. My friends and JS absolutely loved this. They said the squid ink gave the paella an added dimension to the taste. Word of caution though: do not ever, ever order this on a first date. Or one of you will freak out at the thought of kissing black-stained lips (and teeth) =P

Pizza Margarita (RM 12.90)

I had actually ordered Pizza Marinara but the waited mistakenly took the order as Margarita =.= So here's our bland tomato and mozzarella cheese pizza (Miss Pru was the mouse =P). I did not look forward to eating it but surprisingly after a few bites, it was quite yummy. The dough was firm and not crusty nor crispy but it was kind of addictive. Anyway what I meant to say is that it's not a bad option if you're sick of the usual toppings =D

Spaghetti Bebe (RM 17.90)

The Salmon Spaghetti in Creamy White Sauce was nice. Again they were generous with the amount of fresh, cooked salmon as you can see from the picture. The white sauce was creamy but did not feel too rich which is good as I tend to feel jelak after having cream pastas. Overall, it was a good and well balanced white sauce pasta.

In conclusion, this is a place I would definitely return to to try the other dishes. I really do hope they maintain the current standard as it is quite tough to find yummy affordable Spanish eateries. Also as you can see from the first few pictures, there is a Citibank credit card promo for a buy 1, free 1 buffet. The weekend buffet line-up looked good too. Best take advantage of it!

PawPoints: 4 Paws

Pawket: Tomato

http://www.lagomera.com.my/index.html

La Gomera Spanish Buffet & Dining
Block E-LG-1 & 2, NEO Damansara
Jalan PJU 8/1, Damansara Perdana
Tel: 03 7710 0262
Daily

Al-Amar Lunch Buffet @ Pavilion, KL

What better way to try Middle Eastern cuisine other than going for a buffet to sample all the different salads and kebabs =) The buffet is only available during lunch on Sundays and priced at RM 65.

    

Shop entrance

     

Appetizer Spread

      

Lots of hummus

     

Salad Bar

     

Spot my favourites!

      

...and even more appetizers...

      

Steamed White Rice and Mushroom Soup

     

Main Course Spread

      

Kebabs!

     

Grilled Beef Tenderloin in Gravy

     

Spicy Fried Rice

    

Vegetarian Lasagna

    

Fish in Lemon Butter Sauce

    

Dessert Spread

    

Clockwise from Left: Caesar Salad, Tabbouleh, Spicy Fried Potatoes, Chicken Wing, Fattoush Salad

       
This plate of appetizers is the best ever! I loved all that I took as they were all really yummy.
    

• Caesar Salad was a tad more sourish than usual due to the chef's preference for lemon dressing but it was yummy all the same. The toasted croutons were my favourite which absorbed the lemon dressing really well.
• The smell and taste of Tabbouleh was much stronger than what I had tasted when I was in Oman so people averse to parsley better not take this. It was a little bland, perhaps more salt would have been preferable? I prefer to load this on kebabs as you can see in the other pictures =D
• Spicy Fried Potatoes were really good - bite-sized and full of flavour.
• Chicken wing was bursting with lemon flavour. The citrus dressing moistened the meat further.
• Fattoush Salad was simply refreshing: fresh, crunchy lettuce, cucumbers and baby radishes in a strong lemon-y dressing and topped with crispy toasted pita bread. Yum!

      

Clockwise from Left: Vegetarian Lasagne, Eggplant Appetizer, Chicken Wing, Caesar Salad, Tabbouleh, Centre: Spicy Fried Potatoes

       
JS couldn't stop himself loading on his favourite lasagne when we were supposed to be taking appetizers <tsktsk> He said the top of the lasagne was crispy and the pasta sheets went very well together with the vegetables. Pity it had no meat =P

      

Puffy Pita Bread

      
This super puffy pita bread was average. A little chewy though. Good with the kebabs and condiments.

     

Mushroom Soup

      
The Mushroom Soup was surprisingly very good. Thick and creamy, it was full of huge chunks of button mushrooms. Extremely sinful due to the generous amount of cream. Definitely not for weight watchers.

      

Kebab and Condiments

      
Kebabs! Very good with the pita bread, raw onions, pickles, tomatoes and Tabbouleh. The lamb (skinny ones) was the best out of the three, the beef cubes were a wee bit tough and the chicken pieces were a little dry.
     

Clockwise from Left: Curry Chicken, Samosa, Kebab and Condiments

     
Curry chicken and samosa were both average...can skip this.

     

Spicy Fried Rice and Grilled Beef Tenderloin in Gravy

     
The rice had quite a strong spice taste and was quite moist. I wished it was a little firmer sort of Briyani rice though.
   
The grilled beef tenderloin was tender with a nice savoury gravy.

   

My Favourites - Clockwise from Left: Kebab + Condiments + Tabbouleh, Fried Potatoes, Caesar Salad, Fattoush Salad

     
Another round of my favourites! =D

   

Fish in Lemon Butter Sauce

     
The fish was rather plain, not very memorable =(

   

Clockwise from Top Left: Tiramisu, Opera Cake, Middle Eastern Sweet, Cheesecake

      

• Tiramisu was a little dry and sweeter than usual. The abundance of cocoa powder on top of the tiramisu resulted in a slight throat irritation.
• Opera Cake was nice with a thick dark chocolate top and a slight hint of coffee.
• Middle Eastern Sweet was toooooooo sweet >.< JS only had a bite of it.
• Cheesecake was very rich and creamy but JS preferred some toppings on it =P

   

PawPoints: 4 Paws
Pawket: Cheese

   
Al-Amar Lebanese Cuisine
Lot 6.10.00, Level 6
Pavillion Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03 2166 1011
Daily: 11am - 10pm
Sunday: 12pm - 3pm (Buffet)